Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
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K-pop star lip-syncing controversy flares up again
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Man escapes DUI charges by downing bottle of soju while pulled over
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35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
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Pianist Lim Yunchan double winner at Gramophone Awards
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[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
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Controversial cult leader’s sentence reduced to 17 years
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U.S. employers add 173K jobs in August; rate falls to 5.1%
The U.S. unemployment rate fell to a seven-year low in August as employers added a modest 173,000 jobs, a key piece of evidence for the Federal Reserve in deciding whether to raise interest rates from record lows later this month.The Labor Department says the unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent from 5.3 percent, the lowest since April 2008. Hiring in August was the lowest in five months, but the government revised up the June and July job growth by a combined 44,000. From June through August,
World BusinessSept. 4, 2015
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S. Korea to change home ministry’s English name
The government will change the English names of the Home Ministry and several other government offices to help foreigners easily understand the roles and functions of the organizations at a glance, the Home Ministry said Friday.The Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs announced that its new English name will be “Ministry of the Interior.”Sixty foreign countries, including Germany and Finland, currently use the name for a government office overseeing home and general affairs and pub
Social AffairsSept. 4, 2015
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Experts discuss ecotourism promotion in Laos
PAKSE, Laos -- Nearly 100 experts on tourism gathered in a southern town of Laos on Friday to discuss ways to promote the country’s eco-friendly tourism, a key to boosting its local economy. Under the theme of “Reinforcing sustainable Tourism in Lao PDR,” the one-day workshop held in Pakse, offered a platform for Lao government officials, travel agencies and professionals to draw ideas to lure more Korean tourists to the landlocked nation in Southeast Asia. Guests participate in the ecotourism c
InternationalSept. 4, 2015
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Shipbuilding orders fall to 16-month low
Orders won by South Korean shipbuilders in August fell to a 16-month low last month, pushing Korea down to third place after China and Japan in the global ranking of shipbuilding nations, according to global data on Friday.The worsening sales performance will put a heavier burden on the nation’s three major shipbuilders, which are pushing for a set of restructuring measures due to massive losses from lackluster offshore plant businesses -- which they have been capitalizing on as a new growth eng
IndustrySept. 4, 2015
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Have eyes that see beauty, you will be beautiful
In her 20s, she was the darling of the silver screen who enjoyed a meteoritic rise to stardom. Starring as the ever-laughing, ever-cheerful young woman in the 1974 film “A Girl Who Looks Like the Sun,” Moon Sook captivated the audience with her ray of sunlight. In real life, she and the film’s genius director Lee Man-hee, 23 years her senior, fell in love and secretly got married.Their fairytale romance, however, came to an abrupt end when Lee died a year later from liver cirrhosis. After winnin
FilmSept. 4, 2015
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Kia’s cumulative sales in Russia surpass 1m units
Kia Motors, South Korea’s second-largest automaker under Hyundai Motor Group, said Friday that its cumulative sales in Russia have surpassed 1 million units since it started direct operations in the country in 2009.Kia held a ceremony in Moscow Thursday to mark the achievement. Kia Motors Russia president Kim Seong-hwan attended the event with local officials as well as the country’s 1 millionth Kia customer, Ivan Lobanov.Kia Motors Russia president Kim Seong-hwan (left) poses with the 1 million
BusinessSept. 4, 2015
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Park calls for China’s role on Peninsula
South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Friday urged China to play a bigger role for unification of the two Koreas on the last day of her three-day trip that highlighted closer ties between the two countries.At a meeting with Korean residents in Shanghai, the president stressed the roles of neighboring countries surrounding the Korean Peninsula to achieve peace in the region, particularly China, to push Pyongyang to take “a right path” to change.On the breakthrough talks between the two Koreas l
PoliticsSept. 4, 2015
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FSC to ease rules for foreign lenders
Financial Services Commission chairman Yim Jong-yong attends a meeting with heads of foreign banks operating here in Sogong-dong, central Seoul, on Friday. (Yonhap)Korea’s top financial regulator promised on Friday to ease regulations for foreign lenders seeking to expand their banking operations. In a meeting with the heads of foreign banks operating here, Financial Services Commission chairman Yim Jong-yong said he will actively engage in improving the regulatory system for foreign lenders as
Sept. 4, 2015
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Seoul education chief to retain his seat
Seoul education chief Cho Hi-yeon (left) embraces his supporter outside Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul. (Yonhap)Seoul High Court on Friday suspended the sentence of Seoul education superintendent Cho Hi-yeon, who was accused of conducting a smear campaign against his rival candidate in last year’s election.The ruling would allow him to retain his post if confirmed. If a person whose sentence has been suspended commits no further offenses for two years, his or her charges are expun
Social AffairsSept. 4, 2015
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Seoul fumes at Pyongyang's criticism of Park
Unification Ministry spokesperson Jeong Joon-hee (Yonhap)South Korea chided North Korea Friday for criticizing President Park Geun-hye’s mention of the Aug. 4 land mine provocation during her summit with the Chinese leader, and for Pyongyang’s repeated moves to discredit the recent bilateral agreement to defuse border tensions.Seoul had refrained from trading barbs with Pyongyang to stably implement the Aug. 25 agreement including the resumption of reunions of families separated across the borde
North KoreaSept. 4, 2015
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[Robert B. Reich] For a happy Labor Day 2028
In 1928, famed British economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that technology would advance so far in a hundred years — by 2028 — that it would replace all work, and no one would need to worry about making money:“For the first time since his creation man will be faced with his real, his permanent problem — how to use his freedom from pressing economic cares, how to occupy the leisure, which science and compound interest will have won for him, to live wisely and agreeably and well.” We still hav
ViewpointsSept. 4, 2015
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Ex-top prosecutor may return as lawyer after lewd act
A former senior prosecutor who stepped down from his post last year on charges of committing a lewd act in public is likely to return as a lawyer as his request is being deliberated by a group of lawyers.The Seoul Bar Association said it has accepted the lawyer registration request from Kim Soo-chang, the 53-year-old former chief of Jeju District Prosecutors’ Office last week. The Seoul branch sent the application to the Korean Bar Association, its upper body, for final approval. If over six of
Social AffairsSept. 4, 2015
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[Editorial] Wealth hidden abroad
The finance and justice ministers said in a joint statement this week that the government would offer immunity to people and corporations that come clean over their earnings and assets hidden abroad. The window for voluntary declarations will be open from Oct. 1 through March 31. Those who report hidden overseas holdings during the six-month grace period will only be obliged to pay overdue taxes without being slapped with heavy punitive fines. They will also be given leniency for violating laws
EditorialSept. 4, 2015
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[Editorial] Tasks ahead
The sight of President Park Geun-hye standing alongside Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with Russian President Vladimir Putin placed between them, at a massive military parade in Beijing on Thursday may well be seen as signaling what some observers call a seismic change of the diplomatic configuration in Northeast Asia. Choe Ryong-hae, a key aide to North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un, was seen at the end of a row of foreign dignitaries watching the parade from a rostrum overlooking Tiananmen Square. It w
EditorialSept. 4, 2015
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September box office to be dominated by men
It was the summer of women in Korean cinema, with heavyweights like Jun Ji-hyun (Gianna Jun), Uhm Jeong-hwa, Jeon Do-yeon and Lee Jung-hyun all returning to the screen around the same time. Now, the men are poised to take over for September. Here’s a look at some of the Korean films coming up in September. Deep Trap (Sept. 10) Directed by Kwon Hyung-jin Ma Dong-seok (Don Lee), a fan favorite who often provides balance and comic relief to otherwise heavy action movies, returns to the screen as
FilmSept. 4, 2015
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[IFA 2015] ‘OLED will bring innovation to life’: LGD chief
BERLIN/SEOUL -- LG Display chief executive Han Sang-beom envisioned the future display industry in his opening speech at the 2015 IFA electronics trade show, introducing the application of futuristic display technologies, including the paper-thin and transparent displays made of organic light-emitting diodes.In his speech under the theme of “How displays will change our lives,” he elaborated on life in an era of displays. “Through displays, we share information. Through displays, we communicate.
TechnologySept. 4, 2015
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'Innovative platforms can turn tide for Korean animations'
The Korean animation industry poses a mixed picture. Despite the popularity of children’s animations with such hits as “Pororo,” “Robocar Poli” and “Tayo” in the local and global market, many local animation studios still suffer losses. They are trapped in a vicious cycle. Animation studios face mounting losses as they continue to create sequels to their series. Securing a spot on TV doesn’t solve the problem. The fees they receive airing their series on TV doesn’t even cover half the production
CultureSept. 4, 2015
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Fostering creativity while cultivating skill
A quick walk through the campus of Korea Animation High School (nicknamed Anigo among locals) makes it immediately apparent that it is not an ordinary Korean high school. The campus is big and brightly colored, and students roam freely with dyed hair and piercings, dressed in casual clothing. Each floor, and even the stairwells connecting the floors are decorated with the students’ artwork.“We try to give our students an environment that maximizes their creativity,” teacher Kim Young-mi told The
PerformanceSept. 4, 2015
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[IFA 2015] SmartThings key to Samsung’s smart home push
BERLIN -- Top management of SmartThings, a U.S. smart home platform developer, is upbeat on its ties with Samsung Electronics. “Our partnership with Samsung is great. Many Samsung people are now working at our head office,’’ SmartThings founder and CEO Alex Hawkinson told The Korea Herald before Samsung’s news conference at the IFA electronics trade show in Berlin on Thursday. The company is one of the dozens of start-ups overseas that Samsung has aggressively acquired over the past few years to
TechnologySept. 4, 2015
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[IFA 2015] CrucialTec supplies fingerprint solutions to Sony
BERLIN/SEOUL -- South Korean biometrics solution developer CrucialTec said Thursday it is supplying its fingerprint modules for Sony’s latest Xperia Z5 smartphone lineup.The Korean firm’s fingerprint module, called Biometric TrackPad, is integrated into the power button placed on the right-hand side of Sony’s Xperia Z5, mid-range Z5 Compact and phablet-sized Z5 Premium. Sony’s Xperia Z5 features CrucialTec’s fingerprint module in the power button situated on the right-hand side. (CrucialTec)Sony
TechnologySept. 4, 2015